The Bloodpoets “Wings” EP
One more band from Australia – an alternative rock band with a light pop touch called The Bloodpoets. The duet of Tom Murphy and Becca Plath starts off with “Wings.” It starts calmly enough with a bit of edge toward the end of the song. Also notable here is “Sunny Day” with it’s slow ska rhythm and horns. The album highlight is the dramatic ballad turned rock anthem “She Feels It” as it all starts out very quiet and nondescript but then builds to a dense echoing rock melody. It’s a musically effective way to contrast the story of a woman’s chemical imbalance. The track also separates the slow ballad (“Next Year”) from the Nirvana-like guitar songs at the EPs end (“Faces On The Street” and “Dance”). Overall, very good although stylistically the Bloodpoets are a bit inconsistent. I expect the band will improve on it’s next release.
The Blam “Blow Wind Blow”
In the early 2000’s Brooklyn band The Blam were a getting lots of buzz, along with contemporaries like The Strokes and Interpol. Headed by singer/guitarist Jerry Adler (now of Flugente and Wave Sleep Wave) along with Reuben Maher (guitar), Itamar Ziegler (bass/vocals) and Yuval Lion (drums), it suddenly vanished before this final album released. Now the vault has opened, and we are treated to subtle tunes like “I Don’t Know” that showcase the spirit of Friends–era Beach Boys. To say the album is mellow is an understatement – but some beautiful songs are here like “See The Monkeys” and the Beatlesque “No Surprise.” The grinding guitars wake us up with “One Good Blow” but that’s about it. An intimate and mature work that I really enjoyed.
